Known in the art are various tools used for sanding applications and other related tasks.
The Assignee of the present application has developed several of such products, some of which are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. and industrial designs: D258,043; D263,277; D414,395; D431,993; D435,408; D463,639; D474,389; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,629,331; 6,719,620; 6,726,868; 6,742,215; and 6,775,912, the contents of which are incorporated here by reference.
Also known to the Applicant are the following U.S. Pat. Nos. , patent application and industrial designs which describe sanding tools and the like: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,160,995; 5,056,268; 5,123,216; 5,313,746; 5,319,889; 5,398,454; 5,398,457; 5,470,272; 5,482,499; 5,533,925; 5,558,569; 5,605,500; 5,709,595; 5,833,524; 5,967,886; 6,004,194; 6,099,397; 6,179,696 B1; 6,257,969 B1; 6,705,931 B2; Des. 343,104; Des. 387,962; Des. 404,273; D459,965 S; D494,434 S; D504,602 S; D511,954 S; and 2004/0192180 A1.
Indeed, sanding tools are very well known in the art. A typical sanding tool usually comprises a handle for manual operation of the tool and a working or operating surface onto which a sandpaper (or a sanding meshing) is mounted and rested so as to be able to carry out sanding applications by passing the sandpaper-covered operating surface over the area to be sanded.
Also known in the art are the fastening devices which are commonly used to removably mount a sandpaper onto such a sanding tool. Indeed, a typical fastening device generally consists of a pin projecting from a rear portion of the sanding tool onto which a clamping plate is pivotally mounted. A portion of the sandpaper is generally clamped between the rear portion and the clamping plate and this is generally achieved by urging the plate against the rear portion of the sanding tool by means of a nut threadedly engageable onto the pin and rotated thereabout so as to bias the clamping plate against the rear portion. The nut is usually provided with a pair of projections which are commonly known as “rabbit ears” and which are used to facilitate the rotation of the nut about the threaded pin with the fingers of an operator of the tool.
A major problem associated with the above-mentioned type of fastening device is that several turns of the nut about the pin are generally required to provide the necessary clearance to replace a worn-out sandpaper by a new sandpaper, and this is known to be very time-consuming and very strenuous on one's hands, particularly the fingers. Furthermore, usually two hands are required to carry out such an operation, causing an operator to cease any intermediate activities and having to direct his or her attention onto the sandpaper replacement operation. Another problem associated with the above-mentioned type of sanding tool is that if it is inadvertently flipped-over, when sanding, against the area being worked on, which is often drywall or plaster thereon, then the projections of the “rabbit ears” of the nuts of the fastening devices of the sanding tool will often cause substantial markings onto the area being worked on, which is very disadvantageous for obvious reasons. Indeed, such damages are very often tedious and time-consuming to repair and such damages also prevent an optimal finish from being obtained.
Furthermore, it is also known that most conventional sanding devices are not considered optimal for certain applications, particularly for sanding corners, side edges and the like.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved sanding device which would be able to overcome and/or remedy some of the aforementioned prior art problems.